Anti-nuke Group Protests In City

April 30, 1985|by JEFF FLEISHMAN And BILL GERNERD, The Morning Call

Twenty-five placard waving, anti-nuclear protesters, some dressed in black and wearing skull masks, demonstrated on Allentown's Hamilton Mall yesterday in front of a cardboard coffin symbolizing "those who would die in a World War III."

Earlier in the day, activists demonstrated in front of William Allen High School in a campaign called "No Business as Usual." It was a nationwide movement to "deliberately disrupt" people's daily routines in an attempt to get the anti-nuclear message across.

Some protesters, most of whom were adolescents, laid on 17th Street near the high school and blocked traffic temporarily. They also attempted to get students to boycott classes, but received little response.

Police chased the activists off the War Monument at 7th and Hamilton streets. Some of them were handing out leaflets to passing traffic. "Their permit allows them on the mall, not on the monument," said one police officer. There were no incidents.

Some passing motorists beeped in support of the protesters, who were caked in make-up and wearing black lipstick and armbands while chanting, "One, two, three, four; we don't want nuclear war."

Other passersby were non-supportive. "I think it (protest) stinks. You think these kids here will fight for their country. The guys under that monument died for this country," said a World War II veteran.

"We're just trying to encourage public awareness and disrupt the whole social process today so people realize" the danger of nuclear holocaust, said 14-year-old Lisa Kern, a member of the newly formed "Bread Not Bombs" anti- war group. "All the creative youth should ban together and protest," said Kern, who was dressed in black with a veil covering her head.

Mike Schaeffer, 16, said today's youth lack the fervor of protesters of the 1960's because of the country's "conservative mood." He said "students do care about nuclear war" and should take an example from their counterparts in Europe, "who are right in the middle" and protesting hard.

Schaeffer, who wore an arm band and stressed that he is a pacifist, said he supported Mondale in the 1984 presidential election and favors a unilateral freeze followed by a gradual disarmament between the United States and Soviet Union.

"I think the freeze is a joke because the Russians will never stop producing nuclear weapons," said Kern. When asked what she supported, Kern said she didn't know, adding that the group's protest was aimed more at raising public awareness than finding solutions.

The makeshift tombstone in front of the coffin read, "Here Lies Humanity: Cause of Death Nuclear War." The protesters, along with the coffin and placards, stood on the steps of the memorial four 20 minutes when police arrived and moved the group to the corner. One in the group put a skull on a monument statue.

Matthew Duch, 15, did not agree with the protesters' tactics. "Most of it's right and some of it's wrong," he said when asked about the demonstrations.

He said the protesters didn't have anything new to say about nuclear war and failed to offer constructive options to stop the arms race. "They don't have anything to protest about. They don't know when or if there will be a nuclear war."

At Allen High School the group got little reaction. They wanted to ask for a pass permitting them to parade down the school's halls but decided against it.

Several students stopped and listened to what the group had to say, but made it clear they would not boycott classes.